Kon Knueppel details his whirlwind month, which saw him win Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month and appear on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Knueppel admits to being nervous about the late-night appearance but calls being on the show a "cool experience." He stresses the need for the team to stick to their habits and "get better as a collective unit." By DIAMOND VENCES
Apparently, the Charlotte Hornets are battling an invisible Scrooge during the holidays.
Just when things were looking brighter, another dark cloud engulfed the Hornets, shelving one of their most promising prospects.
Kon Knueppel exited the Hornets’ 121-105 win over the Orlando Magic at Kia Center on Friday night with a right ankle injury, further adding to a list of walking wounded that included fellow rookie Ryan Kalkbrenner.
Knueppel was guarding Orlando’s Desmond Bane during a drive to the basket and elevated attempting to block the shot with 1:49 remaining in the second quarter. However, he landed on Bane’s right ankle on the follow-through and Knueppel’s right ankle twisted awkwardly, causing him to come up gingerly.
And it happened after Knueppel tossed in a career-best 16 points in a quarter, torching the nets in the game’s opening 12 minutes.
Kon Knueppel of the Charlotte Hornets drives to the basket. Jared C. Tilton Getty Images
“I thought it was a good team win by the whole group,” coach Charles Lee said, “and Kon helped us tremendously with the way he started the game. Obviously, we kind of just broke the huddle (just) now, and it sounds like X-rays were negative. We’ll get more information as we get back to Charlotte.”
Considering Knueppel’s strong start, it’s a huge blow for the Hornets. In holding his own in the race for the NBA’s rookie of the year honors, he entered the game posting 19.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists.
He recently became the fastest player in league history to reach 100 made career 3-pointers, shattering the previous record of Utah’s Lauri Markkanen by 12 games.
“The impressive part about Kon is that he is such a good overall player,” Lee said. “I think the threes get highlighted a ton, which they should. … But outside of the shooting, what has been really impressive is what he brings on the defensive end of the floor. The physicality that he plays with.
“I was just telling one of our assistants, ‘How come a lot of our defensive clips are Kon?’ He’s stopping guys and creating turnovers on the ball, so he’s just been really impressive there. And offensively, outside of his shooting, he just makes the right reads. When people run him off the line, he’s showing he can do more.”
Here’s what else the Hornets had to say of note in Orlando:
On Moussa Diabate:
“The thing that’s always impressive about Moussa, it doesn’t matter how much size he’s giving up,” Lee said. “He’s got a motor, he’s got a mindset, he’s got competitiveness, he’s got a relentless attack and I think technique to get a couple of offensive rebounds.”
On signing Clemson product PJ Hall to a two-way contract:
“He brings a competitive spirit to our group, which we are really excited about,” Lee said, “and I think adds versatility on both ends of the court. With his size and his athleticism, he’s shown that he can play in some drop coverage if needed. He can also switch a little bit, and then offensively, another guy kind of like Moussa, where their motor to hit the offensive glass is really impressive.
“And then I think the ability with a little bit of continued work, the ability to stretch the floor with the three. So I think that it’s really an intriguing prospect for us. “
On Liam McNeeley:
“I think that during Liam’s extended stint with the Swarm,” Lee said, “he’s gotten some extended minutes, which is always great with young players. Sometimes, in our rotation, I looked down at the box score and he played five minutes, and those were a great meaningful five minutes for him, but it’s nice when he can go out and play through some mistakes and maybe get 25, 30 minutes and earn a little bit more of an opportunity to play. So, I’ve noticed defensively from him, there’s been a mindset to impact that side of the ball a lot more.
“I think Liam has a really good and high basketball IQ … so a lot of times he’s in the right spots. He just has to add more activity and more physicality behind it to be impactful, and I thought I saw that from his stint in Greensboro. Offensively, I want him to continue to hunt catch-and-shoot threes. … If he starts there, it’s going to open up everything else in his game.”